


Courtesy

by Uncle_Riko



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F, Love Live Secret Admirer 2018
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 05:27:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13675170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncle_Riko/pseuds/Uncle_Riko
Summary: Of course she knew what day it was, it was February—“It’s Valentine’s Day, Dia."





	Courtesy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [chariotdunord](https://archiveofourown.org/users/chariotdunord/gifts).



> Gift to @chariotdunord for the tumblr Love Live Secret Admirer 2018! 
> 
> Had a lot of fun writing this, hope you enjoy! I tried to follow one of the prompts at least a little bit, but sorry it turned out to be just vaguely Valentine's related haha
> 
> p.s. I really want to write LWA one day

“K-Kanan? What’s this…?”

“It’s chocolate.”

“Yes, I can see that. Why are you giving it to me?”

“Hm? Do you not know what day it is?”

Dia paused momentarily before haphazardly sifting through the numerous papers scattered across her desk; she must’ve signed and dated a hundred forms in the hour before Kanan had walked in, of course she knew what day it was, it was February—

“It’s Valentine’s Day, Dia.”

“O-Of course, I knew that…!” She turned her cheek to Kanan, despite it doing nothing to hide her deepening blush.

“Dia…” Kanan began, with obvious trepidation, “did you not receive any other chocolate this year?”

“No, of course I didn’t!” Dia found herself shouting, her volume surprising even herself. “A-And these hardly count either, everyone knows you give courtesy chocolate to all of your friends every year—”

“Oh, these aren’t courtesy chocolates.”

“…P-Pardon?”

“You heard me,” Kanan stated flatly, “they’re the _other_ kind.”

Dia’s eyebrows contorted into a confused disarray as she hastily retreated to her inner thoughts. _'_ _Other kind'?? What 'other kind' of chocolate could she possibly be referring to? Surely, she doesn’t mean…'that'…_

“Yes, I mean _'that',_ " Kanan confirmed, as if reading Dia’s mind. “I like you, Dia. In _'_ _that'_ way.” She held out her hand once more, gently dropping the chocolates in Dia’s subconsciously outstretched hands. “You know, you look a lot more nervous than me right now. Shouldn’t it be the other way around?”

“W-Well, I…” Dia stared at the pouch of chocolates in her hand. They were heart shaped, not unusual for Valentine’s Day, but considering the circumstances, it was a particularly poignant gesture; it looked like Kanan had spent a lot of time on them. “Kanan…I-I can’t accept these.” Dia bowed her head before returning the chocolate, unable to bring herself to look at Kanan’s reaction.

“…Ok, no problem.”

When Dia lifted her head, she found Kanan smiling back at her, a smile that showed not an ounce of disheartenment. Kanan was a big girl, she was tough, but surely she must be feeling some sort of sadness or disappointment? Or perhaps, true to form, she was thinking only of how Dia must be feeling, and would sooner bottle up her own feelings if it meant saving Dia from feeling guilty.

“We still on for lunch tomorrow?” Kanan asked, interrupting Dia’s train of thought, “I know Ruby’s been looking forward to that new restaurant for a while now.”

“Huh? Y-Yeah of course,” Dia replied, absentmindedly.

Kanan flashed her signature grin, and with a wave goodbye, she left the room, as if nothing had happened.

 

* * *

 

From that point onwards, every encounter with Kanan seemed awkward and unnatural. Dia quickly came to the realization, however, that she was the only one who felt uncomfortable; Kanan never brought up the confession again and, in fact, acted like their conversation in the Student Council Room had never taken place. Dia almost wished that Kanan would confront her, that they could sit down and finally talk about her feelings, _their_ feelings, but that conversation never came.

As the days went by, Kanan appeared to be as bright and cheery as she normally was, perhaps even more so than usual. Despite knowing her for years, Dia just couldn’t tell anymore whether it was an act, or whether Kanan truly wasn’t bothered by the rejection. Of course, it was no surprise that someone as thorough as Dia felt the need for closure, but what bothered her most, was _why_ , especially when it was seemed obvious that Kanan had moved on. Sure, in the heat of the moment, Dia may have been a little hasty in her rejection, but ultimately, it was the right decision…right? So where was this guilt coming from?

“You like her back, duh.” Mari flicked Dia’s forehead, smirking at her obliviousness.

“W-What? O-Of course I don’t like her that way, that’s just absurd…!”

The blonde rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself, Dia. But the longer it takes for you to admit it, the longer you’re making yourself suffer. Just do like I do and confront things head on!”

“Yeah, because you’re such a _shining_ example, Mari.”

“I am, indeed! Thank you for finally admitting it!”

S-Stupid Mari. Liking Kanan...? That was simply out of the question. Sure, Kanan was kind and thoughtful, and a dear friend, but that’s all she and Dia were: friends.

But still, despite normally treating Mari’s premonitions with the utmost incredulity, even Dia had to admit some of her advice over the years had proved to be insightful. Perhaps she’d be a little more receptive if Mari wasn’t always handing out unsolicited relationship advice like it was Halloween candy.

In any case, what did she have to lose? Say she followed Mari’s advice and confronted her feelings, and somehow came to the _unlikely_ conclusion that she held romantic feelings for Kanan—certainly that wouldn’t be a bad thing? Kanan was the very definition of girlfriend material. She was, by all accounts, gorgeous, boasting a rather wide array of… _assets_ to back up that claim. She had such radiant, electric-blue hair, and mesmerizing violet eyes. And her smile, that stupid, sheepish grin of hers, was enough to make Dia’s heart jump at a moment’s notice.

It’s not like she was perfect though. She was almost _too_ nice, always doing favors for others, carrying their books, lifting heavy objects, showing off those shapely muscles of hers. She was always fraternizing with troublemakers, jocks and delinquents, and even those stalker girls from her “fan club”, as if they’d been best friends her whole life. She had an unhealthy obsession with dolphins, probably wishing she could live in the ocean like some sort of mermaid. And who could forget her god-awful sense of fashion? The overalls were one thing, but who’d want to see Kanan parade around in that skin-tight wet suit she always wore? C-Certainly not Dia, that’s for sure…

Dia was merely making excuses at this point. But why? Why was she resisting these feelings that were so obvious and natural to her? There’s no doubt Dia was attracted to Kanan. So why was she trying to convince herself otherwise?

Perhaps it was a matter of implications, societal norms? To love Kanan romantically meant that Dia would want to hold hands with her and kiss her, right? O-Ok, perhaps those things didn’t sound entirely unappealing, and perhaps she’d imagined it once or twice, but it was shameless, no? Two girls displaying such affection for one another? Dia did her best to live her life perpetuating society’s golden standards. Yet, at the same time, every time her eyes met Kanan’s, her would chest tighten, her heart race, butterflies would swirl around in her stomach.

If that wasn’t love, Dia didn’t know what was.

 

* * *

 

Love doesn’t simply wait around—Dia had forgotten as much. In the year it took for her to sort out her feelings, only at the very end did she realize this was a two-player game. She had taken Kanan’s feelings for granted, and with her own newly-discovered breadth of feelings, she was forced to look upon the face of the girl she loved, and what she saw was the same expression she had seen day after day: the smile of someone that had moved on.

“K-Kanan…!” Dia stopped the third-year outside of class. “I hope you’re not planning on giving me chocolate this year! Y-You know I wouldn’t be able to accept them…!”

Kanan smirked at the obviously flustered Dia. “Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning to.”

“G-Good…!”

“Is that all, Dia?”

“Y-Yes…H-Have a good class!”

“Thanks, you too,” Kanan chuckled, though her expression turned to intrigue when Dia didn’t move a muscle. “Don’t you have to get to class too, Dia?”

“Huh? O-Oh, right…! I-I’ll see you later then!”

No sooner had Kanan disappeared into her classroom than Dia bolted towards the restroom, locking herself in the stall.

She’d said it. She lied, sure, but in order to uncover the truth, sometimes lies are necessary. And the truth was: Kanan had moved on. Everyone knew Valentine’s Day was the ultimate litmus; for Kanan to not give chocolates to Dia, to not even _think_ about giving chocolates to Dia, meant she no longer had feelings for her. Case closed.

Tears began to stream down Dia’s face, tears she’d ignorantly claim were tears of happiness. Now was not the time to be selfish, after all. If Dia truly loved Kanan, she’d want her to be happy. And if being happy meant Kanan no longer loving her, well then, that was just fine.

But that didn’t mean Dia would stop loving her in return.

 

* * *

 

It was an impetuous decision, likely to be viewed, as Dia herself so viewed prior, as nothing more than an empty gesture. But passing by all the glittering bakeries and patisseries, seeing all the streets lined with red and pink garland, Dia knew, despite everything that had happened, that she wanted to make Valentine’s chocolate for Kanan.

Mari had agreed to help, as she had much more experience with this sort of thing (cooking and relationships, for that matter) than Dia, and offered to supplement her endeavor with the finest ingredients money could buy. Of course, her help didn’t come cheap, but at the mere expense of Dia’s sanity, a crack or two about her new-found feelings for Kanan and perhaps a couple “I told you so”s, seemed well worth it.

“So, why are you making Kanan chocolate if you’re so sure she doesn’t like you anymore?”

“Do I have to have a reason?” Dia countered. “Can’t a friend give another friend chocolate on Valentine’s Day?”

“Ehhhh? Am _I_ finally gonna get some chocolate from you then?~”

“Nice try, but no.”

“Aww, you’re so cruel, Dia!~” The blonde grinned, whispering to herself, “Don’t worry, Dia, Kanan will love them.”

“Hm? Did you say something?”

 

* * *

 

Dia recalled the events that happened the year prior. Kanan had waltzed into the Student Council Room, not a care in the world, and she’d confessed to Dia like it was the easiest thing in the world.

It was obvious Dia herself did not have the same mental fortitude; as she counted down the minutes until the arranged meetup time, she couldn’t stop herself from shaking, as she recited what she was to say, over and over again in her mind.

There was a knock on the door. “Dia, you wanted to see me?”

Kanan stepped through the doorway, as glowing and radiant as ever. Perhaps it was true what they said, that a girl in love would herself appear that much lovelier. No, no, it must be a coincidence. Kanan didn’t love her anymore.

“Y-Yes, come in, Kanan…”

Kanan approached Dia’s desk, an annoyingly cute, inquisitive look on her face. “So? What’s up? Why’d you want to see me?”

And just like that, Dia’s rehearsed script disappeared into thin air. Her cheeks were already beginning to take on color. This was not a good start. “W-Would it be so wrong if I just wanted to see you…?” she mumbled.

“I'm sorry, I didn't catch that—”

“F-Forget I said that!! I uh…I actually wanted to give you this…” Dia presented the chocolate from behind her back, making sure their eyes didn’t meet.

“…What’s this for?”

“D-Don’t read into it too much! I-I just wanted to give chocolate to a friend on Valentine’s Day…is all…” It was the same excuse that she’d rattled off the previous day, but by the look on Kanan’s face, it didn’t look like she was about to let it slide as Mari had.

“Gotcha, so they’re courtesy chocolates?”

“Well…not exactly…”

A subtle grin began to take shape on Kanan’s face. “Sooo, they’re the _other_ kind?”

Dia fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, “W-Would you be mad if I said they were…?”

“Why would I be mad? Confused, yes, but not mad.”

“…‘Confused?’”

“You said you wouldn’t accept chocolate from me this year,” Kanan reiterated, “so I guess I’d be confused as to why you’d be giving _me_ chocolate.”

“…W-Well, the truth is…I lied.”

“Huh?”

“O-Of course I’d accept chocolate from you...I-I’m in love with you, after all…” Dia’s gaze finally met Kanan’s: wide-eyed, vibrant and glistening. For the first time, Dia felt, not pain from staring into Kanan's eyes, but warmth. For one brief, shining moment, it felt like they were the only two people in the universe. “I-I’m sorry…” Dia broke the silence, “It took me far too long to realize it, so I rejected you and—”  

Dia was cut off midsentence, as she felt herself engulfed in a hug. She could feel Kanan’s heart beating rapidly, in tandem with her own heartbeat.

“I thought you might come around eventually,” Kanan admitted, amidst a stream of tears.

“W-What? S-So, you’re still in love with me…?”

“I never, for a second, stopped loving you. There was something about the way you looked at me that day—it gave me hope, it told me that it was ok to keep loving you.”

Dia pushed Kanan away, half in relief, half in anger. “Kanan, you idiot! I was worried this whole time that you’d moved on!”

“Haha, I’m sorry, Dia! Buy hey, at least we can be together now, right?” She leaned in abruptly, leaving a peck on Dia’s cheek. “Oh, and for the record, yesterday, I lied to you too.”

“H-Huh?” Dia uttered, still dazed by the kiss.

Kanan dug through her bag, whipping out a small red pouch. “You didn’t _actually_ think I wasn’t going to give you any chocolate this year, did you?”

Dia stared incredulously at the stupid grin plastered on Kanan’s face. This time she would accept the chocolate.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Dia~”

 

 

 

 


End file.
